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Laser General Townes
"Your *insert generals power here* are no match for my Lasers, General." History Townes grew up on a farm in North-East Arkansas. At bedtime, his father would often tell him stories of crop circles and alien abductions, which provoked his imagination and ultimately led to a love of science-fiction stories that later manifested itself as his current obsession with lasers. Townes is a 4-Star US Army General. General Townes was an early pioneer of effective, inexpensive and realistically deployable Laser Weaponry in the US Army, both for offensive and defensive purposes. A 29-year-old Captain Townes was appointed to West Point to teach his theories; however, he found academic life too slow and returned to battlefield command in 2011. With his unique knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of Laser weaponry Townes consistently received favorable marks during live-fire exercises and war games. In spite of his reputation as something of a crank, obsessed with precision and the superiority of Lasers, the US Army counted heavily on him to assist in the modernization of their forces. Shortly after the GLA war he ordered the construction of a huge fortified base, surrounded by laser turrets and armed with particle cannons as well as a full suite of production facilities in the abandoned town of Redwood Shores, from which he takes part in an organised series of skirmishes known as the "General's Challenge". Based at Fort Union, Redwood Shores, California, USA, Townes' Class Number was 00010204-01KE0. Army Townes relied heavily on practicable laser weapons and the advanced power plants needed to support them. Townes spearheaded the development of the Laser Tank, a tank based on the Crusader that was the first ever tank to fire a high-energy Laser instead of a shell. Townes' bases were protected by the Laser Defence Turret, the most effective all-round base defense developed at the time. Such advanced weaponry required considerable energy resources, and Townes' development teams tweaked his Cold Fusion Reactors to produce more power. Avengers, while not exclusive to Townes' forces, could be produced more cheaply by his War Factories. Townes' stubborn pursuit of Laser technology did have some downsides. While his Laser Tanks packed a greater punch than any other tank bar the enormous, expensive Chinese Overlord, they also relied on base power sources; it is possible that a microwave energy link connected the tanks with Townes' power plants, providing the energy for their powerful Laser weapons. If Townes' power levels dropped below the minimum required, all of his tanks would become inactive and defenseless. Townes rejected the more standard US tanks, and also the Tomahawk Launcher; therefore he lost the ability to attack enemy positions from afar (his Laser Tanks had range similar to more conventional tanks, as lasers dissipate over distance). This changed when his scientists created the rail gun artillery platform. Weaknesses General Townes' laser systems were extremely powerful, but at the expense of a massive amount of Cold Fusion energy. His Laser Tanks required power, and, furthermore, a lack of power would mean his special tanks could not be used. A large amount of generals used this weakness to their advantage, and when facing Townes, the primary target a player usually considers are his cold fusion reactors, since crushing these sites could mean a devastating effect to Townes' tanks and laser defence systems. Unique Units Laser Uplink Cannon - Functions almost identically to the standard USA Particle Cannon. However, Towne's Laser Uplink deals more damage versus the Particle Cannon. Laser Crusader - Unlike the standard Crusader, the Laser Crusader fires a laser beam instead of cannon shells. As a result, it rarely misses its targets (but is still inaccurate and ineffective against infantry). Laser Ranger - Towne's Ranger infantrymen are equipped with Laser Rifles instead of the standard issue Advanced Combat Rifles. Laser Defender - Missile Defenders who are armed with laser cannons. Laser Paladin - Fires a sustained laser beam at the target and can even hit it when it is moving, rather than jet-assisted shells. Also has the Laser Point-Defense module. Laser Burton - Equipped with a Laser OICW which can be outfitted with an undermounted grenade launcher. Laser Sentry Drone - Sentry Drone which can be upgraded with a laser gun. Much more effective against most targets than the standard, machine-gun equipped Sentry. Laser Comanche - Townes' Laser Comanche utilise lasers instead of missiles. Also, it can no longer be fitted with rocket pods. Unique Tech Focusing Crystal - Turns all Heavy Laser Weapons Blue and increases attack by 15% and increases the effective range of the weapons. Burton's Special Equipment - Adds a grenade launcher to Colonel Burton's laser rifle Tactics Lasers can be used to burn through infantry or melt through tanks or structures.